I'll have a Málaga with a 12K, a birthday, tapas and churros

I would start out this blog with 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of darkness, it was the age of light,' but I think that's already been done.

The first weekend in December was a 'puente' or long weekend.  We had off from Friday afternoon until Thursday of the next week.  Why?  Because December 6th is Constitution Day (a National holiday for Spain since 1978) and the 8th of December is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 

So, we spent Friday and Saturday in Sevilla/Alcalá and hopped on a train bound for Málaga on Sunday afternoon.  It was about a 2.5 hour train ride.  What I really noticed about the train is how quiet it is.  No one talks (very odd for Spain) and the train itself doesn't make much noise.  (There were also no movies, headphones or snacks provided.)  Upon arrival at the Málaga train station, which could easily have been mistaken for an airport because of the attached mall and modern design, we walked to our hostel, dropped our bags and figured out how to get to the race packet-pickup location (el Estadio de Atletismo) before 9 PM (it was about 3 when we got to Málaga). 

Packet Pick-up Location

The packet pick-up process wasn't any different than it is in the US:  get your number, get your shirt, check to make sure that your chip works.  However, unlike the US, there weren't a bunch of booths selling you all the best running gear available at a special marathon/12K runners rate.  I think there was just one booth and it wasn't offering a discount as far as I could tell (I assume this because no one was at the booth). 

After that excitement, we went back to the hostel (to drop off my bag of goodies and to pick up an umbrella) and then we headed out to check out Málaga a bit.  We walked around the central area and I stopped to eat a sandwich (my last meal before the race).  Megan and Clarisse were going out to dinner with Jose and his girlfriend, so I ate alone.  Unfortunately before a race I can't eat whatever I want or drink whatever I want.  Well, if I expect to be able to run decently I suppose.  So I met up Raquel and Jose so I could say 'hola', but then headed back to the hostel (which only had one key between the three of us, making things tricky at times).  So they got to have fun, while I got to try to have a good night's sleep.  I missed out on tapas, drinks and hot chocolate in Málaga with real Malagueños!  The sacrifices you make as a runner....

Cathedral in Málaga

The race started at 9 AM on Monday, so we tried to get on the bus about 7:45.  We (including a few other runners) got on the bus around 8 AM.  The ride took about a half hour, so we made it in time.  I had enough time to use the port-o-potties twice, which is really unheard of at a marathon with 2,000 people and six port-a-potties. I discovered later that there were real bathrooms inside the stadium.

Anyway, the race started in the stadium.  We ran about halfway around the track at the beginning and end.  The 12K runners were told to line up behind the marathon runners.  I obeyed this rule, but I shouldn't have because we ran the entire 12K race along with the marathons.  They 'dropped us off' at the stadium to finish and they kept going.  So I ended up way in the back of the pack running with (but passing) the slower marathon runners.  (You run more slowly when you have 26.2 miles to complete as opposed to just 7.4.)  I calculate that this affected my time by over one minute.  Or at least I'd like to think so.

The course was a pretty straight shot- just down one road and back.  It was pretty close to the ocean and it was nice and flat. Even the 30-second downpour at the second kilometer didn't bother me.  It felt like the fastest hour of my running career. Megan and Clarisse got some really good photos/video of the stadium and of me finishing.  As soon as I get them (if and when we get around to exchanging photos) I'll try to post some here.

 

 (I cross the finish line at 15 seconds into the video- behind the person in black pants.  I'm wearing turquoise shorts.)

After the race, we acted as tourists and walked through the gibralfaro (a castle with a good view of the city), the Picasso Museum (just pay to see the Picasso stuff or not at all.  But then again, I'm not artsy.) and to see the beach.  In fact, we ate on the beach at a chiringuito.  We wanted paella, but they said it was going to rain so there was no sense in making it (that's really what the waiter said).  So we settled for a shared salad and other random entrees.  Again, the food didn't come out all at once. We waited about 20 minutes for them to bring out 1 of the 3 entrees we ordered.  This situation follows us wherever we go in Spain.  Everyone's food is never brought out at the same time.  The bottom line, though, is that we ate on the beach on my birthday in December.  You can't beat that.

For dinner we had tapas, ice cream and hot chocolate (all at different places in the center of the city- near Larios street).  I also (accidentally) tried a muscatel (wine).  It was really sweet and tastes like raisins, but I liked it.  My favorite tapa is now the Ensalada Malagueña.  It has potatoes, green olives, onions, oranges, and cod in olive oil and vinegar.  You might think it sounds completely disgusting, but I swear that it will not disappoint you if you try it.



Ensalada Malagueña

Ensalada Rusa (potato salad) and a salad with octopus and veggies.

Patatas Bravas (Fried potato cubes with a tomato sauce.)

On Tuesday morning I got up early and ran to the beach we didn't get to see before: el Palo. It was nice and quiet in the morning and in the winter.  It had a nice path along the water/beach/restaurants. It felt like a movie set. The sand itself seemed kind of dirty though- like it was full of garbage. Maybe it's a winter thing or perhaps a city beach thing.

For breakfast we ate churros and hot chocolate at a café near our hostel (as recommended by our Malaguenan Friends). 

(You'll notice we only have 2 cups for three people. Once again, the third person's food didn't come with the first 2 people's. I told you it followed us everywhere.)


We dropped our bags off at the front desk of the hostel and shopped for the rest of the afternoon before heading back to the train station and back to Sevilla/Alcalá.

Train Station in Málaga